Adjustable resilient sash guide structure

ABSTRACT

An elongated sash guide with longitudinally spaced countersunk holes has adjusting screws rotatably mounted and retained in these holes. The threaded shank of each screw is threaded into a resilient sash guide support through a nut held against rotation in a cup-shaped inner casing component which is tightly telescoped into a cup-shaped outer casing component with an interference fit so as to form an inseparable composite casing. The nut in turn bears against the outer end of a helical compression spring, the inner end of which bears against the bottom wall of the outer casing component serving as a spring abutment. In use, rotation of the screw, as by a screwdriver, adjusts the position of the sash guide relatively to the composite casing and consequently relatively to the window frame side rail in which the casing is mounted, yet resiliently supports the sash guide for limited inward or outward motion against the window sash.

United States Patent Trout [15] 3,681,875 ['45] Aug. 8, 1972 Donald M. Trout, 15750 Meyers Road, Detroit, Mich. 48227 [22] Filed: Dec. 16, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 98,728

[72] inventor:

521 US. Cl ..49/418 [51] Int. Cl. ..E05d 13/08 [58] Field of Search ..49/4l8, 416

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,667,668 2/1954 Osten, Jr. ..49/418 1,974,946 9/1934 Baughman et al. ..-49/4l8 X Primary Examiner-Kenneth Downey Attorney-Barthel & Bugbee ABSTRACT An elongated sash guide with longitudinally spaced countersunk holes has adjusting screws rotatably mounted and retained in these holes. The threaded shank of each screw is threaded into a resilient sash guide support through a nut held against rotation in a cup-shaped inner casing component which is tightly telescoped into a cup-shaped outer casing component with an interference fit so as to form an inseparable composite casing. The nut in turn bears against the outer end of a helical compression spring, the inner end of which bears against the bottom wall of the outer casing component serving as a spring abutment. In use, rotation of the screw, as by a screwdriver, adjusts the position of the sash guide relatively to the composite casing and consequently relatively to the window frame side rail in which the casing is mounted,

yet resiliently supports the sash guide for limited in-' ward or outward motion against the window sash.

5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTED AUG 8 1972 3.681, 8 75 INVENTOR @44 70 5 DONALD M. TROUT manna v/amw 8Z 6 ATTORNEYS ADJUSTABLE RESILIENT SASH GUIDE STRUCTURE SUMMARY OF INVENTION I BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Prior devices for resiliently and adjustably supporting window sash guides have not only been costly to manufacture and complicated in construction but have required the use of expensive skills and careful workmanship in their installation. In one such resilient sash guide support shown in the Osten US. Pat. No. 2,667,668 issued Feb. 2, 1954 for Window Construction, the installing workman was required to precisely drill the window frame side member or jamb in an accurately positioned location and then nail the wings of the sash guide support to the jarnb by means of staples. Not only was the assembly of this particular sash guide support complicated but it resulted in scraping and squeaking noises resulting from the metal-to-metal contact of the moving parts with one another. Other prior resilient sash guide supports involve similar problems and defects and were subject to falling out of the holes in which they were loosely mounted as well as possessing a tendency to twist where side wings were employed. The adjustable resilient sash guide mount of the present invention eliminates these disadvantages and instead provides silent operation, simplicity of installation, positive prevention of rotation in the mounting hole, prevention of rusting by minimizing metal parts, completely protecting such metal parts as are employed, and giving clearance for the nut therein to move horizontally to permit side play in removing the sash from the window frame by tilting.

In the drawing, 7

FIG. 1 is a horizontal section through a window frame with a pair of sashes slidably mounted therein upon sash guides which are adjustably and resiliently mounted in adjustable resilient sash guide mounts, according to one form of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section, upon an enlarged scale, through the adjustable resilient sash guide mount of the invention, taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1 and showing a portion of the sash and sash guide with one of the adjusting supporting screws thereof threaded into the mountj FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-section, taken along the lines 33 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-section, taken along the line 44 in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is an exploded longitudinal section through the resilient sash guide mount shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawing in detail, FIG. 1 shows a conventional window frame, generally designated 10, having vertical side rails 12 at the opposite edges of which are mounted stop rails 14 and 16, the former of which abuts an outer rail 18. The foregoing construction is conventional and its details are beyond the scope of the present invention. Mounted in the side rails' 12 are adjustable resilient sash guide structure, generally designated 20, according to the present invention described in more detail below. Mounted for vertical sliding motion in metal or plastic sash guides 22 are the side rails 24 of conventional window sashes 26 containing the usual window panes 28. The sash guides 22 are spaced apart from one anotherby insulating members 30.

The sash guides 22 are conveniently of channel cross-section with central hollow ribs 32 slidably engaging the correspondingly shaped guide grooves 34 in the side rails 24 of the sashes 26. The ribs 32 are drilled and countersunk at vertically spaced locations, each of which provides a hole 35 (FIG. 2) with an inwardly extending frusto-conical side wall 36. Rotatably mounted in the countersink 38 formed by the side wall 36 is the correspondingly conical head 40 of an adjusting sashguide-supporting screw 42. The latter is retained in position by a frusto-conical washer 44 rotatably mounted upon the smooth portion 46 of the shank48 of the screw 42. The conical washer 44 is permitted to rotate yet held in assembly by an annular flange 50 between the smooth portion 46 and the threaded portion 52 of the screw shank 48, the flange 50 being formed by an upsetting or staking operation. The screw-supported sash guide, generally designated 55, is then ready for use, and is of the general type shown in the above-mentioned Osten US. Pat. No. 2,667,668 of Feb. 2, 1954.

The threaded shank 48 is threaded through a nut 54 (FIG. 2) having a non-circular shape, the form shown being square with outwardly projecting portions or corners 56 seated in correspondingly located recesses or grooves 58 extending outward from the bore 60 within the side wall 62 of thecup-shaped inner casing 64 of a resilient sash guide mount, generally designated 66. The cup-shaped inner casing component 64 is of generally cylindrical shape, and has an opening 68 in the end wall 70 thereof for the the passage of the screw shank-48, the opening 68 being of horizontally elongated outline such as an approximate oval (FIG. 3) in order to permit the shank 48 of the screw 42 to move sidewise in removing the sash 24 from the window frame 12, if it is of the removable type.

Yieldingly engaging the inner side of the nut 54 is a helical compression spring 70 (FIG. 2) the opposite end of which is seated against the end wall 72 of an outer cup-shaped casing component 74, a hole 76 being formed in the end wall 72 for the passage of the end of the screw shank 48 in its extreme inward position of adjustment. The outer casing component 74 forms with the inner casing component 64 a composite casing, generally designated 75, and is provided with an approximately cylindrical side wall 76 having outwardly projecting longitudinal anti-rotation ribs 78 formed integral therewith, terminating at their outer ends in an outwardly projecting annular stop flange 80. Formed in the forward portion of the outer casing component 74 is a counterbore 82 slightly less in diameter than the external diameter of the side wall 62 of the inner casing 64 and having an annular shoulder 84 at the inner end thereof. The outer and inner casings 64 and '74 are preferably formed of synthetic plastic material such as the polyarnide plastic known commercially an nylon. The counterbore 82 has a diameter of such relationship to the external diameter of the side wall 62 of the inner casing component 64 as to provide an interference fit therewith in the assembly operation, as described below.

1n the assembly of the resilient sash guide mount 66 (FIGS. 2 and 5) the nut 54 is inserted in the bore 60 within the inner casing component 64 with its corners 56 pushed 'into the grooves 58. The spring 70 is then pushed into the bore 60 against the nut 54, whereupon these parts, while held together, are pushed into the outer casing component 74 by forcibly pressing the inner casing component 64 into the counterbore 82 until the inner end 86 comes to rest against the annular shoulder 84. The resilient sash guide mount 66 is then ready for use. The screw-supported sash guide 55 and its mounts 66 collectively constitute the adjustable resilient sash guide structure 20. i

To install the resilient sash guide mount 66, and with it the sash guide 22, the carpenter or other installing workman bores holes 88 in the window frame side member or jamb 12 at the vertical separations determined by the separations of the center lines of the screws 42, the diameters of these holes 88 being not greater than the external diameter of the external casings 74 between their anti-rotation ribs 78. Using a rubber mallet, the workman drives each of the resilient mounts 66 into its respective hole 88 in a snugly fitting relationship, with the anti-rotation ribs 78 of the outer casings 76 cutting correspondingly grooves 90 (FIG. 4) in the walls of the holes 88. The workman drives the assembly 66 inward in this manner until the annular stop flange 80 on the outer casing component 74 engages the outer surface of the window frame side jamb 12 as shown in FIG. 1.

The workman now holds the screw-supported sash guide 55 in one hand while he lines up the shanks 48 of the screws 42 thereof with the corresponding holes in the nuts 54, whereupon he applies a screwdriver to each screw head 40 to rotate the screw 42 and cause its threaded shank portion 52 to thread its way into the nut 54. He does this with each of the screws 42 until the sash guide 22 is thus resiliently and adjustably supported on all of its screws 42 and is parallel to the window frame side rail 12. By rotating the screws 42 in one direction or the other, the workman can readily move the sash guide 22 inward or outward toward or away from the window frame jamb 12 to obtain the proper location of the sash guide 22 with respect to the sash 26 to be mounted therein for sliding motion yet with the desired amount of frictional engagement therebetween. The sash 26 is then inserted in the usual manner with its left-hand side rail 24 pushing to the left upon the sash 26 to move the sash guide 22 inward against the thrust of its springs until the groove 34 in the opposite side of the sash 26'passes the usually stationarily mounted sash guide (not shown) on the opposite side of the window opening. Thereupon the workman or operator relaxes his sidewise pressure upon the sash 26 so as to permit it to be moved sidewise to the right (FIG. 1) by the combined thrusts of the springs 70 until its opposite l siil gfifiifii hfiivhi ffi flfiofii a ehfifl is complete. I

I claim:

1. An adjustable resilient sash guide structure for removable sash windows, comprising a an elongated sash guide having a plurality of adjusting supporting screws rotatably retained therein, and a resilient mount for each of said screws adapted to be seated in a bore in the window frame, said mount comprising a generally cylindrical hollow casing having a generally cylindrical side wall, a forward end wall with a screw-receiving opening therein, and

. a rearward end wall, said end walls being fixedly disposed relatively to said side wall and said walls defining a spring chamber therewithin;

a nut disposed in said spring chamber adjacent said forward end wall with a threadedv bore therethrough aligned with said opening adapted to threadedly receive one of the adjusting supporting screws disposed in said opening,

a compression spring disposed in said spring chamber with its forward end engaging said nut and with its rearward end abutting said rearward end wall,

and means for fixedly securing said casing in the window frame bore against motion relatively thereto.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said screwreceiving opening is of horizontally elongated outline.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said casing is a composite casing including a cup-shaped outer casing component and a cup-shaped inner casing component with said components disposed in tightly-fitted relatively immovable substantially-inseparable telescoped relationship.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said inner casing component has longitudinally extending recesses therein adjacent said forward end wall and wherein said nut has outwardly projecting portions fitting into said recesses in relative-rotation-preventing relationship therebetween.

5. The combination of claim 3 wherein said outer casing components has a bore therein with a counterbore therein adjoining said bore at a shoulder therebetween, and wherein said inner casing components is tightly seated in said counterbore with its inner end substantially abutting said shoulder. 

1. An adjustable resilient sash guide structure for removable sash windows, comprising an elongated sash guide having a plurality of adjusting supporting screws rotatably retained therein, and a resilient mount for each of said screws adapted to be seated in a bore in the window frame, said mount comprising a generally cylindrical hollow casing having a generally cylindrical side wall, a forward end wall with a screwreceiving opening therein, and a rearward end wall, said end walls being fixedly disposed relatively to said side wall and said walls defining a spring chamber therewithin; a nut disposed in said spring chamber adjacent said forward end wAll with a threaded bore therethrough aligned with said opening adapted to threadedly receive one of the adjusting supporting screws disposed in said opening, a compression spring disposed in said spring chamber with its forward end engaging said nut and with its rearward end abutting said rearward end wall, and means for fixedly securing said casing in the window frame bore against motion relatively thereto.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said screw-receiving opening is of horizontally elongated outline.
 3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said casing is a composite casing including a cup-shaped outer casing component and a cup-shaped inner casing component with said components disposed in tightly-fitted relatively immovable substantially-inseparable telescoped relationship.
 4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said inner casing component has longitudinally extending recesses therein adjacent said forward end wall and wherein said nut has outwardly projecting portions fitting into said recesses in relative-rotation-preventing relationship therebetween.
 5. The combination of claim 3 wherein said outer casing components has a bore therein with a counterbore therein adjoining said bore at a shoulder therebetween, and wherein said inner casing components is tightly seated in said counterbore with its inner end substantially abutting said shoulder. 